Friday, July 30, 2010

oh, and another thing...

Become a "follower" of my blog so it jumps up in the Google search ratings, and you can get updates when I post things.

And for all the architects, the "tallness" of a city is ranked by the number of buildings it has that are over 700 feet tall.  The top 5 before Shenzhen are New York (35), Hong Kong (right next door, with 30), Dubai (25), Shanghai (21), and Chicago (17).  Shenzhen has 13 buildings over 700 feet.

And you may find yourself....

...living in a shotgun shack.
...And you may find yourself, in another part of the world.
...And you may find yourself in the 6th "tallest" city in existence, sharing your address with 1out of 5 people on the entire planet.

On Sunday I leave for China for 10 months to live in Shenzhen, a bustling and youthful Special Economic Zone occupied by over 10 million people.  Right next door is Hong Kong, with over 7 million people of it's own.  I will be teaching conversational English, probably to high school aged students, and what exactly that entails I won't know until I arrive.  This will be a totally new experience for me, as I have almost no experience dealing with Asian culture or customs.  I know next to no Chinese, and right now could not be more excited and nervous about the thought of being an alien for an entire year.

This blog will be where I post stories of my travels, photos of the things I see, and general thoughts on my stance as a guest in one of the most powerful and influential countries in the world.

I know this is initially a very short introduction, but my life has to be whittled down to about 60 total pounds for a whole year, and that fact is rearing its ugly head at me as the clock ticks...and I have to help a friend paint his apartment tonight.  I will try to very regularly update this blog, but also send me e-mails as I know I will get very lonely over there from time to time.  I would love to hear from everyone I know.

Well, wish me luck!